Big Ben Begging For Attention. Weird.

In an appearance on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger said in the wake of the Steelers’ AFC Championship Game no-show in New England: “I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options, to consider health and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there’s going to be a next season.” He said he wasn’t meaning to say he wasn’t coming back, just that he wanted to take some time to decide his future.

I don’t think anyone is buying the possibility of Big Ben actually retiring this summer. As great of a quarterback as Roethlisberger is, he’s always had a hard on for attention. The way he lets you know how injured he is, or how much pain he is playing through, draws a direct parallel to the way women constantly crave attention. We get it Ben, you’re a warrior, you have so much grit and determination, we’re all in awe of how tough you are. Quite frankly I’m sick of it, and I see right through Ben’s female traits.

We can all see through his comments and take them for what they were. Frustration. Truth be told, you can’t blame him. Question is what frustrates him more, his team’s immaturity, or his head coach’s inability to handle it?

You hear players say it all the time. In the moment, they don’t appreciate how special the opportunity is to play in these type of playoff games. They think they’ll be back in this same spot next year, and the year after that. They don’t fully comprehend the urgency of the situation. With Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live video, and Bell leaving the game early, you could tell that the Steelers best players didn’t understand how big of a moment this game was.

As for Tomlin, how much slack are we going to give this guy? How does an offense with Bell and Brown only score two touchdowns in their last two games? How do you allow all these distractions? It is Tomlin’s responsibility to let these players know how precious these opportunities are, and when you allow your organization’s focus to travel to places other than football, you’re sending a horrible message to your team and setting them up for failure.

I don’t blame Ben for doing what he did, but he should have been more direct about it. Come out and say what is bothering you. You always scream from the mountaintops how tough you are. Stop being passive aggressive pussy. Don’t float a bullshit retirement, when you really want your team to grow up, and your head coach to wake up.